Teenagers set Christmas tree on fire in New Year’s Eve rampage

A VIDEO of teenagers lighting a petrol bomb under a Christmas tree while yelling “Allahu Akbar” has sparked outrage in Belgium.

The incident occurred in a square near the Clemenceau metro station in Anderlecht, in the Belgian capital Brussels, on New Year’s Eve.

In the video, originally uploaded to Facebook and later posted to Liveleak, a group of people approach the tree before one throws an object underneath.

Seconds later an explosion can be heard, and the tree is quickly engulfed in flames. As they run away, the teens can be heard yelling “Allahu Akbar”.

The original uploader, named as Mohamed Amine in the video description, has since taken down his Facebook page.

Brussels residents took to Facebook to express their outrage. “Today they will set fire to a Christmas tree, tomorrow they will behead a Christian,” wrote one man.

“When they celebrate Ramadan nobody bothers then, so why do they attack the beliefs of others?” another said. “We will not stop celebrating the birth of Jesus.”

One man said he was “shocked by what I saw last night in Brussels”.

“Brussels is no longer a free city,” he wrote. “Anyone who has ever had the opportunity to travel abroad may realise that the situation in Brussels is neither normal nor tenable in the long-term.

“Brussels will die economically, socially and touristically, especially if no drastic policy is conducted within 10 years. I am very serious.”

One man described the attack as an “act of racism [and an] attack [on] our customs”, while another said: “The only solution is to return foreign offenders to their country with a good ass-kicking.”

It followed a second video taken on the same evening showing a gang of youths pushing a car down an escalator of the Clemenceau metro station.

The car crashed on its side while shocked riders watched from an adjoining escalator, as the youths run away swearing and yelling. No one was injured but train services were suspended for the rest of the evening

Brussels MP Jamal Ikazban hit out at the both the perpetrators and security services on his Facebook page, The Daily Mail reported. “I have a thought for the person who wakes up quietly this January 1 and finds out that his car is in the subway,” he said.

“It is not only not funny, but what is the most frightening it is to imagine that it is possible to take a car in the underground despite the warnings of level 3 AND 4, the presence of the military, the many cameras.

“Let us imagine for a moment that same car full of explosives in the subway and you will understand that we are entitled to ask ourselves the question of the effectiveness of all these new security measures.”

Belgium: Brussels on high security alert, cancels NYE festivities1:24

Belgian authorities have cancelled traditional New Year's Eve festivities in Brussels and boosted the number of police and army officers on patrol in the capital due to fears of 'terrorist' attacks. Residents and tourists were seen walking through the city centre amid the presence of armed police officers on Thursday. Brussels' Mayor Yvan Mayeur said during a joint press conference on Wednesday that, in consultation with Belgian Interior Minister Jan Jambon, authorities have "decided not to have celebrations on Thursday evening." According to officials, over 100,000 people attended New Year's festivities and fireworks in Brussels in 2014. Belgian police have arrested eight people since Tuesday on suspicion of planning to carry out attacks in Brussels on New Year's eve. Two of these were arrested on Tuesday in different parts of the country, in an operation that involved the seizure of military clothing, computer equipment, and 'propaganda' of the so-called Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL). No weapons or explosives were discovered during the raids. The alleged planned attack is not thought to be connected to the Paris attacks of November 13, which put Belgium on high alert. Police have issued an international arrest warrant for Salah Abdeslam, who was born in the Belgian capital. Police say he helped organise the Paris attacks last month in which 130 people were killed. Belgian authorities are searching for additional suspects following the detention of nine persons in connection with the attacks in the Paris capital.